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Validation of a Psychosocial Intervention on Body Image in Older People: An Experimental Design
Published on: May 31, 2021
Crafting the self: older persons' narratives of occupational identity
Linsey Howie1, Michelle Coulter, Susan Feldman
1School of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, La Trobe University, Melbourne, 3086, Australia. l.howie@latrobe.edu.au
Objective:
This study aimed to examine how engagement in creative occupations informed six older retired people's occupational identities.
Method:
Occupational narratives were gathered from in-depth interviews with 6 participants (75 years of age or older) who had extended experience of participation in creative occupations. A process of narrative-type inquiry produced summarized, chronological stories for each participant. Subsequently, a process of paradigmatic-type narrative analysis produced thematic categories related to how a sense of self is associated with creative occupational engagement in later life.
Results:
Four themes derived from data analysis included the relevance of relational practices, changing self-awareness, enduring qualities, and reflective processes to the formation of a sense of self.
Conclusion:
This study adds to an understanding of how leisure occupations maintained across the life cycle contribute to building an occupational identity.
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